Photo By: Mcmanawaytammy
Uncasville (May 20th, 2025) -The Connecticut Sun matched up with the Las Vegas Aces, and before tip-off, Coach Meziane stressed that he wanted his team to be smarter and make better decisions. But once the game started, it was clear that Vegas came in locked in.
Jackie Young got the Aces going early, hitting the first bucket of the game. Right after that, Connecticut turned it over and A’ja Wilson made them pay at the buzzer. Just like that, the Aces had a 4–0 lead. Jackie went one of two at the line, followed by Asia hitting one, and suddenly it was 6–0. After getting fouled on a three-point attempt, Jackie hit all three from the stripe. Connecticut finally got on the board, but the Aces were up 9–2.
A’ja Wilson went to work down low, and Jackie kept attacking the cup. Timeout was called with 6:11 left in the first, and the Aces were already up 13–4. Tina Charles tried to get Connecticut going with a couple of buckets, but Vegas still led 17–8. A late three from Bria Hartley cut the deficit to six, but Jackie answered with one of her own. First quarter ended with the Aces up 24–13.
Second quarter, it was all Jewel Loyd. She hit three after three, and A’ja Wilson kept doing top tier things. Every time the Sun tried to close the gap, Vegas responded. At the half, the Aces were in control, 52–29.
Connecticut had 10 turnovers by halftime, and Vegas had already scored nine points off them. The third quarter was more of the same. The Aces extended their lead to 68-37 behind a dominant effort from Wilson and key contributions from Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young. Despite strong play off the bench from Sanaya Rivers, who contributed 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block, the Sun couldn’t close the gap. Loyd’s deep shooting and Wilson’s consistency.
The Aces led 78-46 heading into the fourth, and despite efforts from Tina Charles with 20pts and 5 rebounds and Olivia Nelson, Las Vegas cruised to an 87-62 victory. Wilson finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, Loyd added 20 points, and Young contributed 16. Chelsea Gray chipped in with 12.
Postgame, I asked Sanaya how she stayed confident despite limited prep. “I felt like I had to be ready for this moment,” she said. Coach Meziane admitted they’re still working on finding rhythm and chemistry. Connecticut falls to 0–2, something we haven’t seen from this squad to start a season since 2020.
